Nine-year-old helps police arrest rapist

On July 26, 2014 when Renda*, 9 and Trisha*, 11, retired from school, the last thing they expected was trouble.

As they played in the neighbourhood at about 6pm, Julius Nabundesi, 20, a peasant and a resident of Shamuyi village, Shakiku Parish in Bulucheke Sub-county, Bududa district invited them to his house promising to give them Shs500 each and sugarcane.

The victims, both pupils of Shamuyi Primary School, followed Nabundesi to his house, 200m away from the victims’ house. When they got in, he brought them sugarcane.

After the duo had eaten the sugarcane, Nabundesi invited Trisha to his bedroom to go pick the money and asked Renda to get out of the house if she wanted to get her share of the money.

As soon as Renda walked out, Nabundesi grabbed Trisha’s hand and threw her on the bed. The little girl raised an alarm, forcing Renda to run back into the house to find out what was happening to her friend.

Nabundesi had over powered Trisha and was forcefully having sex with her.
Renda was too young to help so she ran out to ask for help. She narrated the incident to the neigbours but they brushed it off as a joke and did not bother to confirm if the allegation was true.

“I have seen Nabundesi on top of Renda in his bedroom and Renda is crying,” the girl narrated before returning to the perpetrator’s house.
As his victim continued to raise an alarm, he threatened to harm her if she didn’t stop screaming.

After completing his mission, he ordered the girls to leave his house and go back to their homes and told them not to breathe a word about the incident to anyone.

Later, residents started gathering after seeing the victim leaving Nabundesi’s house in tears, but it was too late, Nabundesi had already disappeared.
The victim’s mother, Jolly*, returned home only to find her daughter walking with difficulty.

According to police, the mother reported that on asking why the girl was walking awkwardly, she said Nabundesi had forced her into sexual intercourse.
Jolly found semen spilled on her daughter’s body.

On July 27, 2014, the victim’s father Kala* reported the matter to Bukalasi Police Station under CRB 738/2014. Since it was a capital offence, the file was taken to Bududa Central Police Station on orders of the head of the area Criminal Investigation Department officer, Mr Henry Akera.

Mr Akera assigned D/Cpl Stephen Wagonya to handle the case and ensure the suspect is arrested and faces the law.
D/Cpl Wagonya embarked on the investigation - he visited the scene and recording statements of the victim and witness.
Detectives recorded a statement from Renda, the 11-year-old girl who witnessed the incident.

The girl confirmed to the officers that the suspect raped her colleague after promising them money and sugarcane.
Detectives later went to the victim’s home and she gave details of how Nabundesi nearly ended her life.

She [victim] told a team of detectives that before Nabundesi grabbed her, he first promised to give her Shs1,000 and three sugarcanes, if she accepted to have sex with him.

Arrested
Nabundesi was on the run. However, with the help of residents, police arrested him at his friend’s house where he was hiding.
After his arrest, he was taken to Bududa Central Police Station.
Detective Wagonya took both the girl and the suspect to Dr Bernabus Rubanza, a police surgeon at Mbale hospital, for examination.

The girl was examined by a police doctor on police form 3A.
The suspect was also examined on a police form 24A and he was found to be an adult of 20 years and mentally sound.

In his report, Dr Rubanza confirmed that the young girl had been forcefully defiled. The report also confirmed a freshly torn hymen. Dr Rubanza’s report also indicated there was a white discharge in the girl’s private parts, suggestive of the presence of semen.

The report further confirmed that the victim had a ruptured hymen.
The surgeon also examined the suspect and both examinations confirmed sexual contact between the victim and the suspect.

However, this evidence was not enough to pin the suspect in the courts of law. Police continued hunting for more evidence from residents.
They [police] interrogated more three eyewitnesses and confirmed the suspect was seen entering his house with the two girls.

Armed with this information, the District Criminal Investigations officer, Akera, ordered the detective who was handling the file to send it to the Resident State Attorney [RSA] for advice.

Detectives prepared a charge sheet for aggravated defilement and the file was submitted to the RSA in Manafwa District for advice.
The RSA confirmed that the suspect must be charged with aggravated defilement and the file was sanctioned. On August 18, 2015, the suspect appeared in Mbale chief magistrate’s court who remanded him, waiting to be committed to the High court for trial. The case was capital in nature only handled by High court.

On December 17, 2014, the suspect was committed to Mbale high court. The State had enough evidence to pin the suspect.

The prosecutor told court that Julius Nabundesi, 20, a peasant and a resident of Shamuyi village, Shakiku parish in Bulucheke Sub-county, Bududa District committed the offence at his house.
At this point, Nabundesi could not continue denying, he confessed to committing the crime.

On May 16, Justice Henry Kaweesa convicted Nabundesi of aggravated defilement and described his act as violent.

“I find prosecution has proved the offence of aggravated defilement against the accused Julius Nabundesi beyond reasonable doubt. I find the accused guilty of aggravated defilement contrary to section 129 [3] and [4] of the penal code Act, and do convict him of the offence as charged,” the judge ruled.
Justice Kaweesa sentenced Nabundesi to eight years in jail.
Defilement and aggravated defilement are capital offences punishable by seven years or life imprisonment upon conviction.

Defilement cases

Defilement continues to lead in Sex Related Crimes in 2012 and 2013. A total of 9,598 cases were reported and investigated in 2013 compared to 8,076 cases in 2012, thus giving an increase of 15.8 per cent.
East Kyoga registered the highest number with 827 cases, followed by Elgon (696 cases),
Malaba (677 cases), Busoga East (641 cases), Aswa and Greater Masaka had 636 cases each.
Most of these took place in the Districts of Iganga (252 cases), Mbale (248 cases), Kamuli (214 cases), Gulu (199 cases), Rakai (186 cases), Tororo (179 cases) Palisa and Soroti had 176 cases each. A total of 4,931 cases were taken to court, out of which 359 cases secured convictions, 38 cases were acquitted, 248 cases were dismissed and 4,288 cases were still pending in court. A
total of 4,667 cases were still under investigations. 4,807 suspects were taken to Court.

Challenges in handling defilement cases
•Most parents/guardians ignore legal proceedings and prefer to negotiate with suspects of defilement because material gain.
•Tampering with evidence were parents/guardians of the defiled victims accept bribes and connive with alleged offenders to alter the child’s age to pervert the course of justice.

Rape
In 2013, 1,042 cases of rape were investigated compared to 530 cases in 2012 hence an increase by 49 per cent-Police crime report 2013

The judgment
I find prosecution has proved the offence of aggravated defilement against the accused Julius Nabundesi beyond reasonable doubt. I find the accused guilty of aggravated defilement contrary to section 129 [3] and [4] of the penal code Act, and do convict him of the offence as charged Justice Henry Kaweesa

*Not real name

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